Learn how the E-N crime team does their jobs and read about the quirky characters they encounter and the sometimes bizarre things that can happen at a crime scene that don't make it into their stories.

Rumor mill churns in missing infant case

San Antonio remains the focus of the search for 8-month-old Gabriel Johnson, who was last seen here with his mother, Elizabeth Johnson, last month.

“We know that something happened in San Antonio,” said Tempe, Ariz., police Lt. Mike Horn. “Either she killed Gabriel like she said, or she handed him off to someone, like she also said. We hope, very much, that we will be able to find Gabriel alive, but we also realize that there’s a possibility that Gabriel is dead. Our hope is that somehow, we will find Gabriel so we can either return him to his father or bring some closure to it all.”

The last time anyone other than Johnson saw Gabriel was Dec. 22, Horn said, but a camera Johnson had when she was arrested had pictures of Gabriel dated Dec. 26.

Tempe police in early January executed a search warrant at the Scottsdale home of Tammi and Jack Smith, who have been identified as “persons of interest” in the case.

Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678. San Antonio Crime Stoppers has offered a reward for information that leads to Gabriel’s return.

Meanwhile, Tempe police and the FBI have addressed several rumors regarding the Johnson case that have circulated in a story that has captured the attention of national media.

1. Elizabeth Johnson is pregnant: false.

2. Elizabeth Johnson used a fake ID in Texas: false.

3. Elizabeth Johnson was in Victoria: there was a cell phone signal from Victoria, but authorities don’t believe Gabriel is there.

4. Investigators are focusing on Nashville: FBI followed a lead there, but nothing has come of it yet.

5. Logan McQueary is not really Gabriel’s father: false. He is Gabriel’s father.

6. Gabriel Johnson was last seen at the Raymond Russell Park: false.

7. Logan McQueary was secretly working with a Scottsdale couple to sell Gabriel: false.

8. Tammi and Jack Smith had permission to adopt Gabriel, or they are his adoptive parents: false. Logan wants custody of his son and has never agreed to any sort of adoption agreement. Without that, any adoption of Gabriel is illegal.

9. Elizabeth Johnson gave the FBI a sketch of the mystery couple to whom she supposedly gave her baby here in San Antonio: false.

10. A Wisconsin woman named “Beth” may have adopted Gabriel: false. “Beth” made an online posting that she traveled to San Antonio in early January to adopt a baby. She did, but it was not Gabriel.

11. Tempe police have opened a murder investigation in connection with the missing infant: false. Through the course of the missing persons investigation, police are looking into the possibility that Gabriel was killed.